Farmers guidelines

Creating a profile on farmhopping is fast and easy! Before you start, please make sure you carefully read our farm guidelines and make sure that your farm meets them.

All Farms on farmhopping must use sustainable and responsible methods of farming
farmhopping is not a regulating body. Farms on farmhopping do not have to be organically or bio certified, but in order to be part of our platform, your farm needs to meet our guidelines for sustainable and responsible farming, which you can read below and must agree to prior to adding your farm.

General Guidelines:

• To maintain high quality of production
• To work within natural systems and cycles throughout all levels, from the soil to plants and animals
• To maintain the long term fertility and biological activity of soils
• To treat livestock ethically, meeting their physiological and behavioral needs
• To respect regional, environmental, climatic and geographic differences and (appropriate) practices that have evolved in response to them
• To foster biodiversity and protect sensitive habitats and landscape features
• To maximize use of renewable resources and recycling
• To minimize pollution and waste
• To minimize processing, consistent with the food in question
• To provide a fair and adequate quality of life, work satisfaction and working environment
• To develop ecologically responsible production, processing and distribution chains, emphasizing local systems

farmhopping accepts only farms that have good environmental management and help foster a healthy and diverse ecosystem. All food production causes some disruption to the natural environment. Your farming should minimize this disruption by:

• limiting the types and quantities of pesticides and fertilizers used
• building soil fertility and soil stability
• maintaining and increasing ecological diversity within and around cropped land

Farm Management:

Apply sustainable and responsible management practices. By sustainable and responsible practices we mean:
• socially sustainable, as well as environmentally sustainable
• with respect for good traditional and pastoral grazing systems
• within the limitations of local climate and topography (such as mountain, hill and upland farming)
• practices that result in the development of a healthy and productive farm that encourages a balanced and varied farm ecosystem, which coexists with natural systems

Weed and Pest Control:

Weeds and pest control are especially important in creating and marinating sustainable farm systems.
farmhopping only accepts farms that:
• Use NO agrochemical or hormone herbicide on any part of the farm
• Use NO pasteurization or sterilization of the soil for weed control
• Use NO petroleum oils, paraffin oils or other mineral oils as pesticides
• Use NO nicotine (Nicotiana tabacum) or extracts made from nicotine
• achieve health, diversity and vitality in soils and crops
• encourage natural growth and a balanced farm ecosystem
• use good rotation design, manure management, well-timed soil cultivation and good farm hygiene

Water Resources:

In order to be eligible for farmhopping, in all operations where you use water, including irrigation, washing, processing and for livestock, you must:
• use water efficiently
• minimize any potential pollution to natural or man-made watercourses
• clean and re-use water where possible
• comply with relevant legislation on water and abstraction, pollution and waste.

Livestock Management

farmhopping only accepts farms that manage livestock with special care for their welfare and health. Farms should satisfy animals’ behavioral needs, and not merely avoid cruelty.

Farms must:

• keep animals in good health
• provide a high standard of welfare and the right diet
• practice good stockmanship
• aim to prevent disease and injury
• increase the ability of stock to resist infection, parasitic attack and metabolic disorders
• increase their ability to overcome injury by rapid healing
• avoid cruelty
• satisfy the needs of animals by handling, housing and transporting them with proper care and attention
• always look after animals’ physical and behavioral needs, health and well-being, so that they enjoy the freedom from malnutrition, physical discomfort and extremes of temperature, injury and disease, fear and distress
• avoid unnecessary restrictions of behavior
• it is recommended that you raise traditional, local or rare livestock breeds to retain genetic diversity
• Use NO substances (such as antibiotics or coccidiostats) to increase the growth rate or production of your animals,
• Use NO surgical or chemical procedures on any animal, unless it is to improve their health or well-being or that of the group
• Use NO antibiotics on a whole herd or flock basis to prevent disease
• Use NO hormones for promoting growth, for synchronising heat, for stimulating production or for suppressing natural growth controls
• Use NO veterinary and health care products containing GMOs or their derivatives
• the farm MUST allow all its livestock access to pasture
• the farm MUST, where necessary, provide sufficient protection for its stock against predation and against rain, wind, sun and extreme temperatures, depending on local conditions and breed
• the farm IS NOT ALLOWED TO permanently house livestock
• livestock must not be in reach of any building materials treated with paints or other products that are toxic to animals

Packaging & Transportation

When packing and transporting your items, you MUST make sure that you:
• package and transport your products in compliance with EU safety and hygiene regulations
• present your product in line with what you advertised on the platform
• present your product in optimum condition, security and integrity
• meet the best possible environmental practice when packaging
• ensure that items are dispatched, shipped and delivered in line with the deadlines indicated on the website
• your packaging meets all relevant legislation of your country relating to packaging, packaging waste, and materials in contact with food

We at farmhopping aim at creating a healthy and beneficial relationship between farmers and customers. Your responsibility towards our farmhoppers is to:
• always maintain high standards of quality and hygiene
• apply quality control before dispatching an item
• be clear about the state of development of the farm and provide accurate information to the users
• ensure that all products sent to the farmhoppers are produced in the farm
• ensure safe working conditions and comfort to visiting farmhoppers

About These Guidelines

farmhopping’s mission is to help the development of sustainable farms. We are a relatively new company, and as such, there is a long way ahead of us to learn. We realize that these guidelines will never be perfect, but we care deeply about trying to get them right. We aim to be as open as possible while protecting the health and creative spirit of farmhopping for the long term. Thanks for reading.

Please make sure you read and accept our Terms & Conditions before proceeding.